Talkback
Chase Stein
| Fighting |
Excellent |
| Agility |
Good |
| Strength |
Typical |
| Endurance |
Excellent |
| Reason |
Typical |
| Intuition |
Excellent |
| Psyche |
Good |
| Health |
90 |
| Karma |
36 |
| Resources |
Not Applicable |
| Popularity |
0 |
Powers
- While Chase has no superpowers, he is the oldest of the group and has the most developed street smarts. He is also the only one with a driver's license. He also seems to have inherited some of the "mad scientist" abilities of his parents, showing an above average mechanical sensability as he is able to repair the technologically advanced Leapfrog several times. He also was given Old Lace, and the telepathic connection she once shared with Gert. He also possesses the Fistogens.
Talents/Equipment
The Leapfrog, The Fistogens, The Footstigons
Contacts
The Runaways, The Young Avengers, The Avengers
History
Chase Stein is the son of mad scientists Victor and Janet Stein. The two supposedly made a fortune from inventing a tool that removes stickers from CDs, but were actually members of the secret group of super villains called The Pride. Victor often physically abused Chase for talking back and for getting poor grades in school.
Chase often comes across as being a dumb, obnoxious jock, but he is surprisingly street smart. Before learning that his parents were members of The Pride, Chase wanted to be an announcer for ESPN, but after his experiences with the Runaways he decides that he wants to join the FBI to help other troubled teens like themselves (with the added perk of carrying a gun all the time.)
He receives his codename "Talkback" from Gertrude's sarcastic remark (he wanted to be called "Neo") and for his habit of talking back. The only Runaway with a driver's license, Chase transports the team in his white van. He uses equipment stolen from his parents: "weaponized" gloves called Fistigons and multispectral goggles, but the gauntlets are destroyed in the final battle with the Pride. Chase was the one who originally found the Runaways' first hideout, a "missing mansion" which was swallowed up during an earthquake in the 1920s or 1930s that he nicknamed "The Hostel".
When the Runaways sneak into the under-sea lair of The Pride in an effort to stop their parents from presenting an offering to the Gibborim, the teens are attacked by the hideout's security system: a giant stone golem. During the ensuing battle, Chase nearly drowns and is given CPR by Gertrude Yorkes. He shows his gratitude by kissing her, and calls her "the hottest chick [he's] ever seen." As he is too weak to continue on to face The Pride, Chase offers the Fistigons and goggles to Alex Wilder, who later betrays them all. Chase saves the team from certain death by hot-wiring the transport ship his parents designed, the Leapfrog, and getting them out of the Gibborim's lair before it explodes.
When the Runaways are split up by Social Services, Chase tells the authorities that he is going to go and live with an Aunt in Anaheim, but instead gives them a false address and runs away again. Later, when the rest of the Runaways leave their foster homes to meet each other, Chase turns up by surprise and leads the teens off to release Gert's raptor, Old Lace, from an Avengers storage complex. After succeeding, the kids decide to stay together rather than return to their foster homes and move off to their new lives in the Leapfrog.
With the Fistigons now gone, Chase helps the team by piloting the Leapfrog, which serves as their getaway vehicle. As opposed to most vessels, which are designated "she," Chase has specifically designated the Leapfrog a male vessel, as the team had "more than enough estrogen". Chase uses the Leapfrog's lasers, which he has only just discovered, to attack Excelsior. Chase now knows how to fix The Leapfrog after it was shot down by a blast from Darkhawk's amulet. He has also recently discovered that the "Frog" can talk, and it calls him "Master," to Chase's delight.
The Runaways have a shocking encounter with Gert's older self, who travels from 20 years in the future to tell the Runaways about Victor Mancha, a boy who will grow up to be a deadly super-villain. Suffering from internal injuries sustained in a battle with "Victorious," the older Gert confesses her love for Chase before dying in his arms. Visibly shaken, Chase vows to "tear [Victor's] damn heart out."
However, the present-day Victor is an innocent young man, and a battle with Ultron leaves him an orphan. He joins the Runaways despite Chase's clear animosity towards him. Chase is also concerned that Gert may be infatuated with Victor, who is more her intellectual equal. Though Gert assures him that she only loves him, Chase remains leery of Victor's place among them.
More recently, it has been hinted that Chase himself has a dark-side. In the "East Coast/West Coast" arc, Chase tells the Pusher Man that he once beat a gang member to death when the other teen tried to steal Chase's van. He did not confirm whether it was fact, though he says that his relationship with Gert is what keeps him "good". Earlier in Series 2, there was a time when he nearly confesses a personal secret to Nico but is interrupted. It is likely that this murder was his secret, as they were mentioned in the same arc.
Random information on Chase:
Plays Lacrosse
Never leaves home without his swtchblade
May have killed a man trying to steal his van when he was 16. Chase has yet to confirm or deny this
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